The space at 719 S. Virginia St. is going to stay in the restaurant business.

Süp opened there a decade ago, followed by Midtown Eats four years later. When Eats decamped around the corner for Cheney Street in fall 2016, Midtown Tacos pitched its tortillas for about six months.

Today at 719 S. Virginia, construction is proceeding on Homegrown Gastropub, the Midtown bricks-and-mortar iteration of the food truck of the same name.

"We're selling the food truck and investing that money in the new restaurant," said Spencer Shea, owner of both.

The Homegrown Gastropub renovation and expansion includes copper ceilings, brass chandeliers, a re-fashioned bar, and new seating at back that will bring the total, front and rear, to 100 (divided among deuces, four-tops and booths).

The front of Homegrown Gastropub is scheduled to open in September, with the full restaurant coming online two to three months later, Shea said.

Basement 'za

The menu, Shea added, would feature "new American food, a lot of comfort food" made with local, sustainable and organic ingredients (including antiobiotic- and hormone-free meat).

"That's our forte: organic food. We have built great relationships with local farmers through the co-op," Shea said, referring to the Great Basin Community Food Co-op just south of downtown Reno.

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There also will be cocktails crafted using ingredients from DROPP, the food co-op's distribution program for area farmers.

The basement will house a wood-fire oven with a gas option. The more even heat of gas can be used to bake bread in the morning, Shea said. "At lunch, we can kick it up to high for wood-fire pizzas."

Spencer from the block

Next door to Homegrown Gastropub, Shea's Tavern is planning its own expansion to accommodate more bands. For nearly 30 years, the Shea family has owned the building (legal address: 715 S. Virginia St.) that houses Homegrown Gastropub and the tavern.

Long before Homegrown Gastropub and Midtown Eats, before Midtown Tacos and Süp, Luciano's (now on Lakeside Drive) served up Italian-American standards from 719 S. Virginia.

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Shea remembers "running around there as a little kid." He also remembers a more raffish block.

"We've been here a long time. We've seen a lot of changes. My car used to get broken into. It was the tenderloin of the area." But with the new Midtown emerging, he added, "this is definitely where I want to be."